Thailand’s 2025 advertising industry contracts 1.63% against forecasts as digital media outperforms expectations

At the Adman Awards & Symposium 2025, Rati Pantawee, President of the Advertising Association of Thailand (AAT), revealed that the Thai advertising industry in 2025 had undergone dramatic shifts, ending the year in contraction—contrary to earlier forecasts expecting a return to growth.

Rati said the sector was hit by a combination of weak economic conditions, international trade tensions, foreign policy uncertainties, Trump-era tariffs, and persistently high household debt, all of which drained spending power and pushed the market into negative territory.

“We never imagined 2025 would be this difficult. Every year we’ve been warned things would turn bad, yet the industry somehow survived. But this year is different—exhausting, and truly not easy,” Rati said.

Digital media surges while traditional media declines

The drop in overall ad spend has coincided with an inevitable and rapid acceleration of digital media, which continues to grow across all platforms in line with global trends. Consumers are shifting heavily toward online video platforms (OTT), generating billions of baht and billions of viewing hours—pulling advertising budgets away from Thailand and into foreign platforms.

This shifting behaviour has sharply affected traditional media, especially television, where both viewership and ad spend continue to fall. Rati stressed that media companies must transform from traditional media providers into full-service “solution industries” capable of delivering measurable business outcomes.

“TV budgets decline every day. We can no longer survive as traditional media alone. We must evolve into solution providers, not just sell ad slots and hope for the best,” Rati emphasised.

AAT remains concerned about the steep decline in consumer spending. The association hopes government stimulus will revive purchasing power.

Looking ahead to 2026, Rati expects recovery—driven by national elections, the arrival of a new government, and successive waves of economic stimulus measures.

Overall market down 1.63%

Pawat Ruangdejworachai, President of the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT), said total ad expenditure across all media is estimated at 107 billion baht, though official tracking shows around 84 billion baht. The market is expected to end down 1.63%, hit by volatility, the Trump tariff shock, the Thailand–Cambodia border crisis, and government transition.

Television and digital media remain the largest categories by spending, while OOH and transit media show strong growth. However, traditional formats—TV, print, and radio—continue to shrink under the weight of digital disruption, which has permanently changed media consumption habits across generations.

“The market swung unexpectedly. Marketers cut ad budgets, and the last month won’t save the year. TV continues to dim as people choose their own content, on their own time, across fragmented platforms,” Pawat said.

He added that any positive momentum next year will likely come from government activity and elections.

Digital advertising performs better than feared

Paruj Daorai, President of the Digital Advertising Association of Thailand (DAAT), said digital ad spend performed much better than originally forecast. The earlier outlook had been extremely pessimistic, but actual results improved due to consumer spending on essential goods, mood-boosting purchases, and bursts of online shopping activity.

“Digital ad spend turned out far better than expected. People didn’t have more purchasing power, but they still had to live—buying essentials and small things that bring joy,” Paruj said.

For 2026, DAAT expects the digital ad market to remain stable in the first half and potentially surge sharply in the second half following the formation of a new government. Market communication will need to be more targeted, transparent, and privacy-respecting, with clear explanations for media mixes rather than scatter-shot spending.

The industry agrees: recovery hinges on political clarity, economic revival, and marketers adapting to new consumer behaviours in an increasingly fragmented media environment.